Control mechanism



y 1946- G. v. FOWLER 2,400,816

CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Nov. 17, 1944 Patented May 21, 1946 UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE lei 400,815

CONTROL MECHANISM v George V. Fowler, Henderson, N. Application November17, 1944, Serial No. 563,961

2 Claims.

This invention relates to control mechanisms particularly designedfor'spinning frames of textile machinery.

In the operation of'suc'h machinery and in numerous other instances inthe industry it is desirable to have an automatic stop mechanism wherebythe operation of the machine may be terminated upon the completion of aparticular operation as for instance when the bobbins of the spinningframe have received a predetermined amount of the material being woundthereon. Numerous means have been employed for automatically effectingthis termination of the operating cycle of such machine.

Such previous means, however, are usually characterized by complicatedmechanisms which are both delicate in their operation and requirecareful and frequent adjustments while at the same time usually actingwith a time lag such that precise accuracy in the quantities of materialwound on bobbins is not possible. Such devices for use in spinningframes are normally actuated by fluid pressure means which requires thepresence of a source of fluid pressure to operate the devices .andwhichfrequently vary in their accuracydue tochanges in pressure of theapplied fluid as such may result from temperature differences. s

Another problem which has presented itself in previous devices foreffectingthis control is the 30 difficulty of providing simply a resetmechanism which may be easily actuated by an unskilled operator so as toinstitute a new cycle of operation after the automatic device hasterminated the previous cycle and full bobbins have been replaced 35 byempty ones and the device reset for a further loading. 1

It. is an object of the present'invention to over-. come the'abovedifficulties heretofore encountered and to provide a very simple,extremely accurate 40 and easily-reset control mechanism particularlydesigned for use in control of spinning mechanisms fortextile plants. I

A'more specific object of the present invention Another object of theinvention is to provide a device of the character set forth in which theamount of the material to be wound upon the isto provide anelectric'alcontrol-means which may be automatically operatedb'y the material woundupon the-bobbin so asto instantly terminate the spinning operation whena predetermined amount of material has been received by thebobbinJ Afurther object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterset forth which may be reset to institute a new cycle of operation by asingle manual movement in one direction of a reset plunger.

bobbin may be readily varied by the simple adjustment of a control screwwithout requiring either special tools or an experienced technician toaccomplish the desired adjustment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter set forth which may be readily applied to existing types ofspinning machines without modification of their present structuraldesign.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel andefficient device of the character set forth which readily lends itselfto economic manufacture so that a changeover of machinery from fluidpressure control devices to present simple electrical devices may bemade without any substantial capital investment by the plant.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the present invention as-applied to thespinning frame of a textile machine;

Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional view taken through the device illustratedin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a vertical section taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4, a vertical section taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2. I

Referring more particularly to the drawing the spinning frameisillustrated as including a base Ill upon which is mounted therotatable bobbin supports ll,-the empty bobbin being illustrated by thenumeral I2 to which thread [3 is supplied from the rotating guide [4mounted on the base I l. l The frame is illustrated as further includinga vertical'support l5 which is usually the end memberof the spinningframe. It will be under-- stood that with each frame there are aplurality of the supports I I and bobbins I2, the control mechanismbeing applied only to the end bobbin which thereby controls theoperation of the entire series of bobbins.

The present invention comprises a cylindrical housing It, the flangedend I! of which is adapted V to be secured to the support l5 as byscrews I8.

The housing ['6 is thus mounted horizontally adjacent to the end bobbinl2 and preferably in the rear thereof. The forward or flanged end of thehousing I6 is closed by suitable closure block 19 which may be of woodor similar insulating material and which is centrally apertured as at toreceive therethrough the operating shaft or rod 2| which extends throughthe member l5 terminating outwardly thereof in an operating knob 22.

The rod 2| is also preferably of insulating material such as wood and isprovided with a transversely extending cotter pin 23 which projects fromthe sides thereof within the casing I6. The cotter pin 23 receivesthereagainst a washer 24 which i urged towards the cotter pin by a coilspring 25, the rear opposite end of which abuts a central dividing andsupporting block 25 which is also of insulating material and iscentrally apertured to receive the inner end of the bar therethrough.

The inner extremity of the bar 2| is counterbored to provide a chamber21 within which is mounted a spring 26 which normally urges outwardly acentral metallic cap 28 which is made of conducting material such ascopper. The side of the cap is provided with an elongated aperture as at29 to receive a retaining pin 30 carried by the terminal end of the rod2| thus precluding movement of the cap from the end of the rod.

When the rod i moved to its full inward position, the metallic cap 28 isbrought into engagement with a pair of spaced contactors 3| carried onthe inner face of an end closure 32 for the casing I6, the closure 32being otherwise formed of insulating material and the contactors 3|being individually connnected with conductors 32, the arrangement beingsuch that the contact of the head 28 will bridge the gap between thecontacts 3| and establish electrical communication between theconductors 32 thus energizing the machine and initiating or maintainingthe cycle of operation.

For retainingthe rod in its inner position thus to establish electricalenergy for the energization of the apparatus, the rod 2| is providedwith a groove 33 adjacent which is fixedly mounted a bearing sleeve 34preferably of metallic material. The face of the central block 26' haspivotally mounted thereon an operating controller 35 pivotally securedas by the screw 36. The controller 35 is pivotally mounted above the rod2| so that the external projectin portion which extends through anarcuate slot 38 of the housing l6 normally urges by gravity the arm 35in counter clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 4 so as to engage theslot 33 and retain the rod in its inner position against the tension ofthe spring 25. The forward externally extending terminal end of thecontroller 35 is provided with a feeler head 39 mounted upon a threadedmember 40 which extends through the terminal end of the arm controller35 and is adjustably secured in position by a locknut 4 In the operationof the device when the material wound upon the bobbin has reached apredetermined height which is adl'ustably determined by the position ofthe feeler head 33 a vertically movable portion of the mechanism willengage the head 39 and thu lift the controller 35 thus removing it fromthe groove 33 and permitting the rod 2| to spring outwardly under theinfluence of the spring 25 whereby the head 23 will be disengaged fromthe contacts 3| and the passage of current between the conductors 32will be stopped thus terminating the cycle of operation of the machine.When the bobbin is removed the arm 35 will again drop by gravity but thegroove 33 in the rod 2| will be positioned on the other side of themember 5' in Which e rod is journalled so that the arm will rest uponthe metallic sleeve 34 until such time as the operator manually move therod 2| inwardly against the tension of the spring 25 thus establishingcontact between the members 3| at which time the arm will again dropinto the groove 33 and will thus retain the rod in the operativeposition till such time as the vertically movable portion of themechanism again actuates the arm 35 to terminate the flow of power tothe machine.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawin and described in the specification but only asindicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Control mechanism for spinning frames of textile machinery each ofwhich spinning frames has a movable part, said control and mechanismcomprising a cylindrical housing, means for securing said housing to asupport adjacent a spinning frame, a closure member in one end of saidhousing, spaced electrical contacts mounted on said closure member,spaced supporting members in said housing having apertures in alignmentwith the space between said contacts, a switch element reciprocable insaid aligned apertures and in one extreme position being adapted tocomplete the circuit between said spaced contacts, cushioning means onone end of said switch element for cushioning the engagement between theswitch element and said contacts, resilient means for urging said switchelement toward open switch position, means whereby said switch elementmay be manually moved toward closed position, and a gravity operatedlatch for maintaining said switch element in closed position wherebywhen said movable part engages and elevates said latch the switchelement will be automatically moved to break the circuit.

2. Control mechanism for spinning frames of textile machinery each ofwhich spinning frames has a movable part, said control and mechanismcomprising a cylindrical housing, means for securing said housing to asupport adjacent a spinning frame, a closure member in one end of saidhousing, electrical contacts mounted on said closure member, a switchelement reciprocably mounted in said housing and in one position beingarranged to complete the circuit between said contacts, means on one endof said switch element for cushioning the engagement between the switchelement and said contacts, resilient means for urging said switchelement toward open switch position, means whereby said switch elementmay be manually moved toward closed position, and a latch formaintaining said switch element in closed position whereby when saidmovable part engages and elevates said latch the switch element will beautomatically moved to break the circuit.

GEORGE V. FOWLER.

